At the Sept. 18 finance committee meeting procurement staff presented the district’s semiannual minority- and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) report for Jan. 1–June 30, 2025. The report showed $4,844,275.59 in certified MWBE expenditures (3.29% of the $147,450,050 controllable budget) and a combined certified plus noncertified MWBE total of $20,799,587.30, or 14.11% of the controllable budget.

Procurement staff explained the distinction between certified and noncertified vendors. Certified firms are those registered with the State of South Carolina certification processes; noncertified vendors may self-identify as minority- or women-owned but are not validated through the state certification process and therefore are reported separately for transparency.

The report listed 18 solicitations during the six-month period (17 goods and services solicitations and 1 construction solicitation) and noted several sole-source purchases during the period (North American Learning Institute, Lab-Aids, and ERC for records digitization). Staff encouraged noncertified vendors to seek state certification and described outreach steps: vendor conferences, advertising, community relations and contractor-driven subcontractor outreach.

Procurement staff acknowledged certification barriers, including costs and the time required (audited financial statements can be a deterrent) and said staff will continue to hold vendor events and assist firms that want to pursue certification. A board member suggested adding a short board-facing briefing or a community outreach page to encourage vendor participation; staff agreed to coordinate outreach with operations and construction partners who subcontract work locally.

Colonel Guy and other trustees also discussed federal and state certification differences. Procurement staff explained that in federal contracting certification advantages (for example, price preferences) can differ from South Carolina procurement law; under state rules the district reports certified and noncertified separately and promotes vendor certification to meet the board’s certified-MWBE goal.

Staff said they will continue outreach and will coordinate with Turner & Townsend and other contractors on subcontractor engagement and with state certification resources to increase certified participation.